We usually teach our kids to not be swayed by peer pressure.  However, it’s the negative peer pressure that scares us.  The peer pressure that might make our kids drink alcohol, take drugs, or engage in other risky behavior.  How many parents have uttered the phrase, “If everyone else jumped off the bridge, would you do it too?”  That answer comes, of course, in response to a child saying, “But everyone else is doing it.”

What about positive peer pressure, though?

Don’t you want your kids to feel pressure from kids who are getting better grades?  What about peer pressure from kids that are polite to their parents?

So peer pressure doesn’t always have to be a bad thing.  Certainly you want your child to develop without feeling like they have to keep up with others all the time, but a little positive peer pressure once in a while can be a good thing.

To your happiness!